


Strawberries, Mint and Caramel

by ABlueLightInTheDark



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Flirting, Fluff, Grumpy Alec, I'm Bad At Tagging, Insecure Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Magnus is a little shit, Malec, barista!Alec, sort of college AU?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 01:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6590500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABlueLightInTheDark/pseuds/ABlueLightInTheDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Alec is the grumpy barista in a cute little coffee-shop and Magnus the fancy customer. Apparently he takes his coffee as extravagant as he dresses himself and it drives Alec out of his mind. Because how the hell is he supposed to make a caramel macchiato with mint, one and a fricking half cubes of sugar, low fat milk, extra whipped cream, chocolate sirup, sprinkles and fucking strawberries that doesn’t look like a disaster?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strawberries, Mint and Caramel

**Author's Note:**

> Hi :)  
> So this is my first fan fiction on ao3 and my first fanfic written in English.  
> English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes (you can point them out to me, I won't mind)  
> Please be nice, I am a gentle soul ;)  
> Other than that I really hope that you enjoy this OS. 
> 
> -Blue-

It’s not like Alec hates his job.  
No, he actually really enjoys working at the small, cozy coffee-shop near the campus.  
It’s just days like this, that he could throw something at the customers. 

This particular one seems to need a lot of attention. To be honest, Alec could drool over his looks, because he is fucking _stunning_ , if it weren’t for the order he just had made.  
He’s obviously Asian, with beautiful green-golden eyes, that flicker mischievously in the soft light of the room. The makeup he’s wearing is done perfectly - Alec knows for sure, that Isabelle would totally be in love with it. The guys black hair is styled in a way, that Alec considers awfully hot and his fingernails are painted in a sparkly black. In general the guy is very glittery. His eyeshadow glimmers, his cheeks glow and Alec won’t even get started on his clothes…  
He has never seen someone this extravagant and fancy in his whole life.  
And apparently guys that dress extravagant take their coffee extravagant, too. 

Alec just stares at the beautiful man in front of him, the first time he orders the drink.  
Maybe he is to blended from his beauty or it’s just to much to take, but he gapes a few seconds at him, until the guy chuckles.  
“You ok?“, he asks Alec and _no, Alec is not ok_.  
“Uh… Well, could you repeat that for me, please?“, he stutters and feels a horrible blush creeping up his neck.  
The Asian chuckles again and nods.  
“I would like a caramel macchiato with low fat milk, one and a half cubes of sugar, extra whipped cream, mint, chocolate sirup, sprinkles and strawberries.“  
He says that, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.“ Alec’s expression goes from stunned to pissed in a matter of seconds.  
“Do I look like I’m kidding?“ The guy lifts one perfect eyebrow like it his his fucking legacy to do so.  
Sadly, he does not look like he is kidding. Alec wants to strangle him for being so pretty, because now he has no other choice, than to make the drink. He would feel like a complete idiot (and asshole), if he would turn his order down. 

“Ok… Can you repeat that one more time, so I can write it down, because I won’t be able to remember that for more than two seconds…“, he asks, an annoyed tone swinging in his voice.  
The glittery man flashes him a lovely grin, showing of his brilliant white teeth and Alec narrows his eyes.  
If he wouldn’t know better, he would think that that guy enjoys pissing him of…  
So he just aggressively rips a piece of paper from a pad and scribbles down the order, while the guy repeats himself again.

When Alec looks up again the guy is starring openly at him and it takes all of his mental strength to not turn bright red right in front of him.  
Alec gestures to one of the free tables in the shop, because it sure will take some time to make that stupidly fancy drink, but then he remembers, that he probably should ask the customer for his name first.  
“What’s your name? Or should I just write Mr. Fancy-everything?“ He freezes and then bites his lip anxiously, after the words leave his mouth.  
He did not mean to say that last thing. It just slipped out… God, hopefully that guys not that much of an asshole as he behaves, because Alec could get fired for being rude to the customers.  
But he just laughs it off and winks at Alec, who now totally does get red, before he answers the question.  
“I’m Magnus. But you can keep calling me Mr. Fancy-everything. If you so desperately want to call me ‚Mister’ I will not stop you. It is kind of hot to be honest.“  
He says that so bluntly that Alec nearly drops the cup he got for ‚Magnus‘.  
“Oh. I- Uh. Magnus. Ok, Magnus it is then…“ Alec mentally slaps himself across the face for sounding like a fucking idiot.  
He scribbles Magnus name on the cup and than turns to search for the ingredients for this chaos of a coffee he is supposed to make. 

Alec can feel Magnus eyes on him and it makes him incredibly nervous.  
Although he has no idea why… It’s not like Magnus is the first handsome customer he has seen in this shop. Well, he probably is the most interesting one to look at, Alec has to admit to himself.  
Alec bites back a small groan as he pours the low fat milk he just opened over his hands instead of into the cup.  
He hears a chuckle from behind, knowing that it is coming from Magnus.  
Asshole. (Hot asshole, but thats not the point.)  
Because he sadly can’t throw something at Magnus he just glares at him angrily for a few seconds, before going back to work. 

The caramel macchiato is made in a matter of minutes and Alec is kind of glad, that at least that task was easy.  
It takes him a few minutes to cut the stupid strawberries in small pieces. The chocolate sirup is already standing in a bottle next to the coffee-machine, as does the whipped cream and the sugar.  
“Do you really need those fu- those mint leafs?“, Alec asks Magnus, because he really does not want to go into the kitchen and search for them. “It will take longer with them, you know?“, he tries to convince the Asian, but Magnus shakes his head so frantically, as if his life depended in those fucking mint leafs.  
Alec roles his eyes, but disappears into the kitchen to ask for what his customer wants.  
It even takes the people working in the kitchen a few minutes to find those damn leafs, and when he enters the other room again, it takes Alec everything to not throw them at Magnus stupidly pretty face, who now sits at a table near the counter.  
But because Alec likes working at the shop and because he intends to keep working there, he tries to keep calm and starts to throw those stupid one and a half cubes of sugar into the coffee, before he finishes it of with the sirup, strawberries and mint leafs. He then slams the cup on the table in front of Magnus who just shoots him an amused look.  
“Your coffee.“, Alec announces shortly and than turns around, because he’s afraid he would do something stupid if he had to keep looking at Magnus any longer. Like kiss that assholish grin away, that now forms on Magnus face.  
Alec nearly freezes at this thought, because what the hell, he barely even knows this guy. He could be a serial killer for gods sake, why does his brain think, that kissing him would be a good idea?!  
 Alec closes his eyes for just a second, hoping to be able to collect himself, because he will be fucked, if another customer comes in that isn’t as forgiving as Magnus. It’s not exactly good for the business if Alec keeps snapping at the customers because he is a moody little shit and he really needs the job, because fuck, college is expensive. So getting fired because of his bad attitude isn’t exactly something he wants to happen. 

But it seems like the luck is on his side for at least once, because there are no other customers in sight.  
Now that Alec looks around, he notices that him and Magnus actually are the only people in the shop and Alec huffs out a shaky breath at that.  
Why does that sort of thing always happen to him?  
Magnus seems to have noticed that too and he grins at Alec, who now stands behind the counter again.  
Alec tries to look away, but then decides against it, because he will not let Magnus win this easily.  
So he just stares back and when he sees Magnus nipping on the… coffee he asks: “Do you like it?“  
It comes out a little more nervous than intended and Alec knows he’s blushing again. Magnus doesn’t seem to mind though; he just smiles lightly and nods.  
“It actually is really good.“  
“Actually? Is this the first time you ordered this monster?“  
Magnus grins and then nods again.  
“Why the fuck did you think that that would be a good idea?!“, Alec nearly shouts. He doesn’t care about his language and he doesn’t care about the fact, that Magnus ordering a fancy coffee is a ridiculous reason to get angry, because he suddenly feels fooled.  
Magnus doesn’t look impressed by Alec’s little outbreak, he just nips at his coffee again, licking the heavy whipped cream of his lips, which certainly is a very affective way of making Alec shut up.  
“You are cute, when you are mad.“, Magnus notices and Alec narrows his eyes.  
“I am not cute! And even if you think so, it’s no explanation for ordering this ridiculous drink.“  
“Well, you wouldn’t have noticed me, if I hadn’t.“  
Alecs eyes go wide at that and it takes him a few seconds to progress those words.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.“  
“Why?“ Magnus actually does look a bit confused and Alec can’t bring himself to hold the laugh back, that tries to escape his throat.  
“Just… look at you! How could I not notice you? You are literally the most interesting thing I have seen all _month!_ “, Alec gesticulates towards Magnus clothes, although those aren’t the most beautiful features on the Asian. That place definitely belongs to his stupidly aesthetic face.  
Magnus lifts one eyebrow. “So I am an interesting _thing_ to you?“  
“I.. No. NO! That is not how I meant that… You obviously aren’t a thing, you are- I…“, Alec stutters and wants nothing more than to hit his head on the surface in front of him. 

Magnus grins again and drinks from his coffee, apparently finding Alec’s behavior very amusing.  
“Shush, no need to be nervous. I know I’m hot, but really, I’m just teasing you, so no need to get all flustered. Although the red really suits you, I must say…“  
Alec chokes on those words, looking away he coughs a few times, before he risks a look at Magnus again.  
He is still staring at Alec, like he is a piece of art and it makes Alec incredibly nervous.  
“Stop it.“, he announces and Magnus shoots him a questioning look.  
“What shall I stop with, blue eyes?“  
“Stop staring at me, like you… like me or something.“, Alec narrows his eyes at the nickname, but doesn’t say anything.  
“Oh, but I do like you. I just have a thing for black hair and gorgeous eyes and you really capture those features in their best way.“ Magnus winks at him and Alec can feel the blood shooting into his head (and a direction a little deeper, but that is not something he wants to think about right now…)

“I’m not the best person to… well, flirt with. Believe me.“ Alec suddenly feels very uncomfortable while Magnus still looks at him, like he has x-ray vision.  
“Don’t lie to me. You are doing just fine.“ Magnus smiles and than stands up and leans against the counter, throwing one of the small strawberries from his drink in his mouth.  
Alec swallows at the movement; he’s sure he has never seen something that hot in… well, forever.  
“Although there is one thing you could enlighten me about: What is Alec short for?“  
For a very short moment Alec is confused, because he can’t remember telling Magnus his name, but then he realizes that he does wear his name tag.  
“Alexander, but no one calls me that.“  
Magnus smiles a very sweet smile, before he says: „Well, I do now, _Alexander_.“ 

Alec can’t help but shiver as his full name leaves Magnus lips and huffs out a shaky breath.  
“I still don’t understand why you are flirting with _me_ …“  
Magnus shrugs. “I don’t understand why I am the only customer in here, either. Some questions just don’t have answers, Alexander.“  
Alec rolls his eyes but can’t argue against that. Maybe he should stop being so self-conscious. He knows he has no real reason for being so insecure- it’s not like he is ugly or something. It’s just that he always feels so dumb around people with experience and Magnus seems like he has had _plenty_ of experience while Alec’s experience nearly equals zero.  
Magnus seems to wait for Alec to say something, because he just keeps still and looks at him. He is drinking his coffee again and Alec has to chuckle, because the order still seems so ridiculous to him, especially as a way of getting his attention.

“Alexander, are you laughing at me?“, Magnus asks amused and Alec grins slightly.  
“Maybe. Well, not really laughing at you, but at your horrible example of a drink.“  
Now Magnus is laughing, too.  
“You did do a great job with it. I didn’t expect it to even taste decent, but this is just extraordinarily tasty.“  
“You sound like a moron, you know that?“  
Magnus puts on a rather fake pained expression and lets out a dramatic gasp.  
“Alexander, how could you hurt me this way?!“  
Alec smiles at that and Magnus eyes start to glow happily.  
“Mission accomplished.“  
Alec furrows his brows. “What are you talking about?“  
“The few times I have seen you, I have never seen you smile. I was just curious… But you should smile more often, it suits you as well as your adorable blush.“

Alec shyly looks away and nervously ruffles his hair. He’s just not used to compliments of this sort.  
“You have seen me before?“  
Magnus grins. „On campus, yes. And I have been here before, but not during your shift.“  
“Oh. Yeah, well I don’t know if it’s a good thing that you are here now.“  
Magnus now does look kind of hurt and Alec’s eyes go wide, as he realizes, how his words must have sounded to him.  
“No! I didn’t mean it like that… I meant, that you being here during my shift, probably isn’t the best idea, because I not getting any work done. I am glad, that you are the only one in here right now, because I would probably have been fired by now. I am supposed to make drinks for the customers not chat with them.“, he explains and Magnus expression softens.  
“Oh. Well, you probably are right with that. If I am distracting you that much from your job, I should probably go.“  
Alec bites his lip.  
By the angel, he really isn’t good at this…  
„Do you… I don’t know, want get coffee or something, sometime?“  
Smooth, real smooth… Why did he have to sound like a moron?!  
But Magnus just smiles happily and than nods very enthusiastically.  
“Of course, Alexander! I thought you would never ask… Let me give you my number.“, he basically purrs and pulls out a pencil from one of his pockets, scribbling his number on Alecs hand, before giving him some cash.  
“Keep the change. This drink really was something else. Maybe it will get my go-to?“  
Alec makes a face. “I’d rather if it won’t…“  
Magnus chuckles. “It was a joke, blue eyes. It might have been a good drink, but it still is a little heavy for an every day thing. I will stay with my normal caramel macchiato the next time.“  
Alec grins slightly and Magnus reaches up to pet his cheek.  
“Smile one more time for me, before I go? Or I will safe your number under `grumpy barista´, when you text me.“  
Alec tries not to shy away from the touch, because he hates people even being remotely close to his face, but the soft peck of Magnus hand doesn’t make him uncomfortable. It actually feels kind of nice and tingly and so he has no problem flashing Magnus a small but honest smile, which seems to make the Asian very happy.  
“See you around, blue eyes. Don’t forget to text me or I will have to hunt you down!“, he cheers before he is out of the door and gone. 

Alec can’t help himself but touch his face where Magnus fingers where just seconds ago. He also can’t help but wonder, if Magnus would taste like strawberries, mint and caramel, if he would have kissed him goodbye.  
Dear lord, he can’t already be crushing on the other man, can he? 

Well, at least Alec now was very certain that he wouldn’t forget Magnus even if he wanted to.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated :D
> 
> Send me prompts and requests on my tumblr:ABlueLightInTheDark


End file.
